International issues

UN Approves Reforms for Listing and Delisting on Terrorist List

in
Date: 
February 1, 2010

The lack of due process in the United Nations' (UN) terrorist watch list has made some governments reluctant to enforce sanctions against those listed.  Responding to these criticisms, and at the urging of human rights advocates, on Dec. 17, 2009 the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1904, which sets out an improved process and creates greater transparency.  These improvements, supported by the U.S. in the Security Council vote, do not yet apply to the U.S. listing process.

Study: The West Bank Zakat Committees (1977-2009) in the Local Context

in
Date: 
December 10, 2009

Emanuel Schaeublin, along with the Center on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding in Switzerland, has published a study about the role of zakat committees in the West Bank and Gaza, and the effects of politics on them. Zakat committees, Schaeublin explains, had been (before 1970) informal groups that operated charitable projects out of mosques in the West Bank. In the 1970s the Jordanian government established more formal committees.The Working Paper draws on interviews with local actors and published research to argue for a more nuanced interpretation of the role of zakat committees within Palestinian society.

Aid Expert Recommends Re-thinking Aid Strategies to Reduce Terrorism

in
Date: 
November 2, 2009

Denis Dragovic spent three years in Iraq in senior positions with U.S. based nongovernmental organizations, and has extensive experience in emergency response and post-conflict environments in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.  In an Oct. 5, 2009 Journal of Humanitarian Assistance article titled Terrorism and the Aid Industry: A Back to Basics Plan, he argues that now is the time for an approach to the relationship between aid and reducing terrorism "that recognizes the importance of how aid is being delivered and not just how much, an approach that recognizes the opportunity to tackle poverty and violent extremism concurrently rather than prioritizing national security and combating extremism through the cooption and at the expense of the poverty alleviation agenda."

Study: Public Opinion Could Predict Terrorism

in
Date: 
September 30, 2009

Can public attitudes predict future terrorist attacks? According to a September 2009 study, evidence suggests when people of one country disapprove of the leadership of another country there is greater likelihood of international terrorism by groups from the original country. Authored by the Czech Academy of Sciences and Alan Krueger (prior to becoming the appointed Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Department of Treasury) the study was published in Science Magazine.

Report: US and EU Must Rethink Counterterrorism Measures that Violate Our Shared Values

in
Date: 
June 15, 2009

On May 27, 2009, Anthony Dworkin of the European Council on Foreign Relations published a report, Beyond the "War on Terror": Towards a New Transatlantic Framework for Counterterrorism, that calls on European leaders to recommit to finding common ground with the U.S. on shaping future counterterrorism policies. 

Charitable Work Promotes Our National Security

in
Date: 
July 31, 2009
Author: 
Suraj K. Sazawal

On July 29, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs held a hearing on U.N. peacekeeping missions. Opinions varied on determining peacekeeping priorities, but there was near unanimity about the need for the U.S. to take meaningful steps toward reducing the primary causes of violent extremism around the world as a way to improve our national security.

The UK Charity Commission: Focus on Problem Solving, Program Beneficiaries

in

In the United Kingdom (UK) the Charity Commission, an independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, uses a vastly different approach to the issue of charities and counterterrorism than the U.S. In March 2009 the Charity and Security Network interviewed David Walker, Head of Compliance Outreach and Development and Sarah Jane Digby, Regional Manager sub-Saharan Africa International Programs, in the Commission’s London office. Here is what we learned.

US, EU Grantmaker Groups Publish Accountability Principles for International Philanthropy

in

The Council on Foundations (COF) and the European Foundation Center have published Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy, the result of a two-year consultative process of grantmakers and stakeholders from four continents. The COF press release announcing the document says:

U.S. Terror Listing Hurts Banking Services for British NGOs

in
Date: 
June 28, 2009

The influence of the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is widely believed to be behind the December 2008 decision of Barclays bank to discontinue the account of a predominantly Islamic UK charity, Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT).

Charity Interpal Cleared in UK, Banned in US

in
Date: 
June 28, 2009

On Feb. 27, 2009 the Palestinians Relief and Development Fund (Interpal) was cleared of supporting terrorism in the third inquiry into its activities by the United Kingdom's (UK) Charity Commission.  The charity also overcame hurdles to financing its operations created by two prominent banks that withdrew their financial services in response to the United States (U.S) listing of Interpal as a supporter of terrorism. 

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